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Thesis Award

The Outstanding Thesis Award

  • About the award

    The Outstanding Thesis Award was established in 2016 to recognize a student graduating from a thesis‐based master’s or doctoral program whose thesis represents an original work that makes a substantial contribution to the discipline.

    A maximum of one award will be presented annually in each of the master’s and doctoral categories:

    • Master’s Thesis Award: This award recognizes a master’s student who has written an outstanding master’s thesis and whose thesis has made (or is expected to make) a significant contribution to their field.  The recipient will receive a monetary award and a recognition plaque.
    • Doctoral Thesis Award: This award recognizes a PhD student who has written an outstanding doctoral thesis that represents a remarkably impactful contribution to their field of research.  The recipient will receive a monetary award and a recognition plaque.
  • Eligibility criteria

    The award is open to all students who have completed a thesis-based graduate program and meet the following criteria:

    • Recommendation for Awards Form completed by the thesis/external examiner of the thesis.
    • Obtained a GPA of 3.7 or higher in their program.
    • The outcome of their thesis defence was either Acceptable without Required Revisions or Acceptable with Minor Revisions.
    • No academic offenses on their record.

    Note: students who submit their thesis to SGPS after the winter submission deadline will be considered in the following year’s competition. 

  • Nomination process

    Master’s thesis and doctoral external examiners nominate exceptional theses after a thesis defence.

    Each faculty will create a selection committee who will be notified of the nominated students. They will be permitted to nominate one student in each category. The SGPS Awards Committee will review each faculty’s application package.

    Each eligible graduate program that is considered cross‐faculty can also directly nominate a student in each category. 

  • Application process

    The nomination package for each candidate must include:

    • Nomination form
    • Nomination letter (two pages maximum) written by the Faculty Selection Committee nominator(s) summarizing why the candidate’s thesis is outstanding and outlining the significance of the candidate’s scholarly work. The letter must clearly identify how the nominee meets the award evaluation criteria.
    • Curriculum vitae of the nominee
    • Copy of the thesis
    • Copy of the Recommendation for Awards Form completed by the external examiner of the thesis.
    • Copy of the Thesis/External Examiner’s Report. Doctoral candidates must also include the University Examiner’s Report on the thesis.
    • Copy of the Chair’s Report on Thesis Examination

    The electronic application package should be submitted as one PDF via email to gradthesis@ontariotechu.ca.

  • Nomination deadline

    The award will be given out on an annual basis corresponding with convocation ceremonies in June. As such, the submission deadline for application packages will normally be after the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) post-exam thesis package deadline. Each year SGPS will circulate the deadline date as part of the call for nominations announcement sent to each faculty. 

    All eligible candidates must have defended their thesis and completed all degree requirements no more than one year prior to the submission deadline.

    All nominees will be notified of their status after public announcement of the award recipients.

  • Selection process and award criteria

    The award will be selected by the SGPS Awards Committee. This committee is chaired by the Dean of SGPS or their designate.  The committee will consist of no more than three graduate faculty members who do not have a conflict of interest with any nominee. The membership should also have a diverse representation of research disciplines.

    The committee will evaluate the candidates’ nominations using the following criteria:

    • The scholarly accomplishments that have arisen from the thesis research. This can include peer‐reviewed articles, research monographs, patents and other creative works.
    • The significance of any research breakthrough or major advance made by the nominee’s thesis research.
    • Awards and other forms of recognition for research accomplishments by professional societies.
    • The current and future impact of the thesis research on society.

    The committee will recommend nominees for each award to the Dean of SGPS.

  • Award presentation
    Each thesis award consists of a recognition plaque. The thesis awards will normally be publicly announced during the convocation ceremony.
  • 2024 Award recipients and nominees
    Master’s Thesis

    This award recognizes a graduating master’s student who has written an outstanding thesis that has made or is expected to make a significant contribution to his or her field of study.

    2024 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award recipient

    Jennifer Nichols
    Thesis title: The identification of novel cys-loop receptor genes in Dirofilaria immitis
    Master of Science in Applied Bioscience

    2024 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award nominees

    Paul Louis
    Thesis title: Scalable Subgraph Representation Learning through Simplification
    Master of Science in Computer Science

    Mari Pullman
    Thesis title: Mapping the Developmental Trajectories of Chronic Offenders in Canada
    Master of Science in Forensic Psychology

    Jigyesh Sharma
    Thesis title: A Universal Centralized Protection Scheme for Feeders of AC Microgrids using IEC-61869-9 Digital Instrument Transformers
    Master of Applied Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

    Samyah Siraj
    Thesis title: Synthesizing Existing Evidence and Leveraging Expert Opinions to Develop a University, For-Profit, and Not-For-Profit Organization Partnership Model to Address Health Professions Education Gaps through Simulation-Based Education
    Master of Health Sciences in Community, Public, and Population Health

    Katlin Walsh
    Thesis title: Volunteer Educators' Perceptions of Mentorship Involvement: Grades 9-12 Robotics
    Master of Arts in Education

    Doctoral Thesis

    This award recognizes a graduating doctoral student who has written an outstanding thesis that represents a remarkably impactful contribution to his or her field of research.

    2024 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award recipient

    Lin Saleem
    Thesis title: Effects of dietary fiber components and gut microbiota products on the immune system: a focus on grape pomace as a novel source of fermentable substrates and bioactives
    Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Bioscience

    2024 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award nominees

    Natalie Azzi-Mofrad
    Thesis title: Breaking the Silence: An intersectional approach to sexual violence and harm narratives of women living in Lebanon
    PhD in Criminology and Social Justice

    Ahmed Sheir
    Thesis title: Investigation into The Stability of Low-Inertia Micro-Grids
    PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering

    View past winners and nominees